Language transition and epistemic access: The teaching and learning of English as first additional language in the foundation phase
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Date
2019
Authors
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
South Africa is a multicultural and multilingual country, with eleven official languages which
include English, Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, IsiNdebele, Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi, TshiVenda
and Xitsonga. While the nine African languages have official status, they are used for teaching and
learning in the Foundation Phase (Grades R – 3) only. English is accorded high prestige and status,
and it is used as the main Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) from Grade 4 to tertiary
level. This occurs mostly in schools with African language-speaking learners only, while English
and Afrikaans speaking learners maintain their home languages as LoLT from pre-primary to
tertiary education.
This study argues that if learners do not have a solid foundation in their home language and in the
first additional language (FAL), they may not cope with the demands of the Grade 4 curriculum
where English additional language is used as the main LoLT. Therefore, this study explored the
teaching and learning of English (FAL) in Grade 3 and the extent to which it prepared learners for
transition to English LoLT and their epistemic access to knowledge in Grade 4.
The Constructivist and Sociocultural theories were used to understand how the teaching and
learning of English LoLT occurred in the selected Grade 3 classroom, in an under resourced
township school in the Western Cape. The study made use of a qualitative research approach. Data
were collected by means of classroom observations, interviews and document analysis. Interviews
were conducted with the Grade 3 class teacher, the Head of Department (HOD) and the principal.
Data were analysed thematically.
The findings of the study show that the Grade 3 teacher made use of learner-centred strategies in
teaching English. However, the learners were not challenged to think critically. Learners had
reading and writing difficulties, as well as low proficiency in English. The study concludes that
English (FAL) is a barrier to Grade 3 learners’ epistemic access to learning and it could negatively
impact on their transition to English LoLT in Grade 4.
Description
Magister Educationis - MEd
Keywords
Epistemological Access, First Additional Language, English, Grade 3, Foundation Phase